The Chosen of Akatosh
by Dragon-hugger
Summary: Neema's life totally changed from an Argonian bard into The Chosen One. What does it mean? How would a bard deal with the Gods' affairs?
1. Chapter 1

The Dragon Within

"We drink to our youth, to days come and gone. For the age of oppression is about done."

Today would be the best day of my life. At last I got the chance for a trip to Solitude, away from the corruption of my homeland. I'd left that swampy province a lifetime ago if I had the chance.

"We'll drive out the Empire, and take back what we own. With our blood and our steel, we'll take back our home."

The Bard's College awaited me. I'll live my life what I would like after this. I was too excited, and can't stop singing on the way to the capital of Skyrim.

"All hail to Ulfric, you are the High King. In your great honor we'll drink and we'll sing."

"Psst, don't sing that song anywhere near Solitude! It is full of Imperials, and you could be arrested if they caught you!" said the Khajiit in the same caravan as me.

Oh, how I liked that song. Wish I could sing it again. Speaking of the Khajiit, he seemed normal enough to me. But, there's a nagging feeling when I saw him. Like he's up to no good.

He said he had some business to do in Solitude when I asked him. It's not my business, but I couldn't help but feel curious. He won't say anything about it, though.

"Hey, get ready. We're almost there." said the carriage driver.

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I was so excited. I will officially be a bard. Then I will travel between holds, sing songs in taverns, and most importantly, to hear the good music in my ears everyday. I know this is not a common job for an Argonian, but it's my life. I can do whatever I want.

The carriage stopped and the force that pushed me forwards snapped me out of my thoughts. I jumped out of the carriage and walked with excitement to the gate.

The guards opened the gate for me and the Khajiit, Ak'ari was his name if I was correct. My excitement turned into a curious one when I saw the crowds gathering.

Curiosity won the day, and I found my way to see what the commotion was about. It turns out that it was an execution. The Khajiit was right. If I show just a hint about me supporting the Stormcloaks, they'll be sure to execute me. Roggvir, the man that was going to be executed, opened the gate for Ulfric to run away after his battle with High King Torygg.

I felt like I want to puke when I saw his head rolling to the floor. The crowds cheered at it.

I just left, not wanting the image of a head rolling appear in my mind again. I pushed it with the excitement about the Bard's College.

The Bard's College was near the Jarl's castle. It was a large building. Wonder what's inside. My hand shook when I reached the knob to open the door. Gathering the confidence I had, I opened the door.

The building was big enough. It had many books and many instruments inside. I was instantly greeted by an Altmer.

"Welcome to the Bard's College. I am Viarmo, the headmaster. How may I help you?"

"I-I wanted to join the college." By the Hist, I was too excited.

Viarmo raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, it's not common for an Argonian to be a bard." he said.

 _"Don't say no. Please, please, please..."_

"But I think that's okay. Welcome to the Bard's College."

I can't believe it, I'm inside the college! I'll be a bard soon enough!

"But before you are officially marked as a bard, you have to prove yourself first." he said before I get overexcited.

"Okay! What should I do?" I asked, full of vigor.

Viarmo held his hands as a gesture to slow me down. "Easy there. Well, if you really want to prove yourself, you have to help me finish this verse."

He pulled a folded paper from his pocket and unfolded it. I peeked at it's contents. The title was King Olaf's Verse.

"I hired some men a few days ago to retrieve this from Dead Man's Respite. But unfortunately, it has aged and some of the words are missing. I need it complete to convince Jarl Elisif that the Burning of King Olaf is necessary." he said.

I gave him a nod to indicate that I was ready.

"Here we go."

"O, Olaf, our subjugator, the one-eyed betrayer."

"Death-dealing demon and dragon-killing King."

"Your legend is lies, lurid and false."

"Your cunning capture of Numinex, a con for the ages."

"Then it's blank. What should we fill there?" he asked.

But I couldn't answer him right away. My head ached, like it was hit by something hard. I gripped my head and fell to my knees.

"Hey, you okay?" Viarmo asked, noticing me. But I didn't hear him.

Numinex... why did that name sound familiar?

Then it was gone. I shook my head to get rid of the remaining aches.

"You okay? If you don't want to do this now, it's okay. We can do it later." Viarmo said.

I quickly replied. "No, no, no! I didn't say I'm going to stop!"

"If you say so. Hm, King Olaf was Olaf One-Eye. He famously captured the dragon Numinex and took him to Dragonsreach. What do we say really happened?"

Hmm... what should I fill? An idea entered my mind.

"King Olaf was Numinex!"

Viarmo recoiled a bit after I said that, but after he got a good look of my sure face he nodded. "That's... quite a good idea, actually. I'll write that in."

"Olaf grabbed power, by promise and threat;"

"From Falkreath to Winterhold, they fell to their knees;"

"But Solitude stood strong, Skyrim's truest protectors."

"Olaf's vengeance was instant, inspired and wicked."

"Strange. According to history Solitude attacked Winterhold, but Aesgeir seems to be saying Olaf reacted. What do we say happened?"

Well, I said that Olaf was the dragon itself. So, it won't hurt to continue the story, right?

"Olaf sacked it in dragon form!" I shouted excitedly. I couldn't hold it today.

This time, Viarmo raised an eyebrow and then widened his eyes. "Oh, that's exciting! I'm sure the court and the Jarl will love it! I'm writing it in."

"I-it's done! I should head to the court and present this! You should come!" he said overexcitedly, much like I was. Bards tend to do that.

But after all excitement gone, I felt exhaustion pulling my body into the realm of sleep.

"Can we do that tomorrow? I'm really tired." I said with a yawn. The sun was also going to sink in the horizon anyway.

Viarmo was a bit disappointed, but he escorted me to my room. My room. One day in the college and I got myself my own room already. Viarmo said that there's a big day ahead of me, and told me to sleep well.

It's not that hard to sleep, so I went into the blackness immediately.

•*×*-_-*×*•

Dreaming was like in real life for me. My mind was strong enough for the dream to take form.

I was in a Jarl's castle. It was quite big and well lighted. Several huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling. There was also a huge fireplace in the middle of the room. The Jarl was slouching on his throne, like other Jarls of Skyrim.

But there was something that caught my attention. There was a dragon skull that was mounted on the wall. It felt... very familiar, but I don't know or remember anything that had to do with it.

The castle broke apart, like paper washed away by the rain. Now I was on top of a mountain. It was so high, I would bet that it was the highest mountain in Skyrim.

There were three Nords gathering. They didn't see me. Then a dragon, black as night, landed down. I screamed in my dream when I saw it. The dragon emitted some evil aura that would've made anyone piss in their pants.

Soon the three charged against the dragon, shouting familiar languages at the dragon to keep it down. But the dragon looked like it was winning.

So one of the three pulled a... I can't believe my eyes. An Elder Scroll. And then he said something to banish the dragon. One last time before it faded into nothingness, it glared it's red eyes at me.

Which shocked me like a thunderbolt. I instantly destroyed the dreamworld and woke up. I don't know why was I sweating.

Looking at the window, I noticed that it was still in the night. Realizing that I couldn't sleep anymore, I went down and decided to take some fresh air.

And I saw a furry tail coming out from a room.


	2. Chapter 2

The Dragon Vessel

I know that I used The Dragon Within as the title in the previous chapter. But when I published it, it it turns out someone has used the same title. So I changed it to The Dragon Vessel.

Chapter 2

It turns out that it was the Khajiit before. He was opening Inge's drawers.

"Hey-"

The Khajiit, as fast as lightning, turned and covered my mouth with his hand. Then he put a finger to his lips, gesturing me to keep quiet. I nodded.

He released his hand from my mouth. His other hand was still in his lips.

Suddenly, the windows of the room opened, and guards entered. I could also hear footsteps from below.

The Khajiit tensed. One of the guards approached us. "It's time to put an end to your crimes, Lynx." he said, looking at the Khajiit.

Then he looked at me. "And you must be his fellow thief. You two, come to jail."

I widened my eyes. "What! I'm not a thief! In fact, I found this thief sneaking up on Inge's room." I said, flailing my hands.

"So you already do crimes on the first day you enter the college, hm?" said the woman I was talking about.

What? Why did she say that? I didn't do anything to her, why would she say I was a thief to the guards?

"Now come with me, you two."

"But I-"

"I don't care. Come with me." he said, drawing his sword. The blade flashed when the light emitted from a candle lighted it. Ooh, it made me shiver in fear. I hate pointy things, especially when it was pointed at me.

The Khajiit, quick as a lightning, reached to his pocket and threw salt to the guard's eyes. Then he ran to the window. The other guards started to chase him, but time seemed to slow.

 **"Run. Follow the cat. Staying will do you no good."**

I thought it was my instinct saying things. So I just obeyed and followed the Khajiit. The remaining guards tried to slash me with their swords, but I succeeded in dodging them all. I never knew that I had such quick reflexes.

I jumped out of the window, and fell to the ground. But I managed to roll myself to reduce the impact. The Khajiit was running ahead. I could reach him.

Yes, I could reach him. I was on his side a moments later. No words was exchanged between us as we ran. The Khajiit had a look of anger and fury in his face.

We exited through the massive gate of Solitude. Strange, there were no guards guarding it.

And then we were surrounded by the guards outside, just as we got out. That explains why the guards didn't guard the gate. They knew we were going here, and had set a trap for us.

Looking back, the guards from before ran towards us. We're surrounded. I looked at the Khajiit, he had a look of anger and desperation.

I got an idea.

"Cover your ears," I whispered to the Khajiit's ears. He raised an eyebrow, but did what he was told.

I flicked my hand and a green aura formed in it. Then I cast it on myself. I took a deep breath, and then screamed my lungs into a high pitched voice.

The result was the guards recoiling for a moment. Illusion magic can be useful if you know how to use it. I jerked my head to signal the Khajiit to go. We ran past the guards that were still covering their ears. I didn't realize that voice manipulating spell would be useful at times like this.

We just ran and ran, until the Khajiit deemed it was safe.

"Thank you for the help back there. You have saved my life." The Khajiit said. Hm, he didn't say Khajiit or this one to refer himself.

I just nodded. "Why did you follow me? You know that I am a thief. A Master Thief, at that."

I widened my eyes. "M-master thief?!" The Khajiit nodded.

"Uh, well, I knew that they're going to capture me if I stayed there."

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I left the college. I left my life as a bard. I won't be marked as a bard.

"I'm not... I'm not a bard anymore..." then I looked at the Khajiit with anger.

"And it's all because of you!" I shouted, pointing a finger at the cat. I... I felt very empty. My dream is taken away.

The cat widened his eyes and then hung down his head.

"If you hadn't been sneaking there, my dreams would come true, and I would live a happy life! You took it all away." I said. Tears were coming out of my eyes.

Then the Khajiit exploded in anger too. "You think you're the only one who lost everything? No! I also lost everything! The Guild... they said they're going to send backup. But no, they wouldn't help a fellow thief because the Gray Fox didn't want me to take over his position! They even sent someone to tell the guards about my next location."

"They betrayed me. What should I do? I don't know anything aside from being a thief." he said, hugging his knees.

It was Inge. She's the one who told the guards about this cat. They way she woke up, they way she felt sure of everything... she knew he was going to do his job there.

And she told the guards that I, a new member of the Bard's College, was also a thief that tried to steal something from her. Ugh, that bitch.

I turned to look at the cat that was still hugging his knees. He looked so desperate. It wasn't his fault, I told myself.

"I don't know. You'll find it out soon enough. Same goes to me." I said as I approached him.

He looked up from his sitting position. And then he sighed. "For the meantime, I think it's better if we stick together." he said.

"What's your name again?" I asked him.

"Ak'ari. What's yours?"

"Neema." I told him my name as I helped him stand up.

We were going to walk as two purposeless beast-like creatures when there was shouting nearby. We turned to the source of the shout.

Several men in blue cuirasses came into our view, wielding two handed weapons. They looked like they were running from something.

We were going to turn around for a run when we saw men in red armors march from the opposite of the blue.

Shit. Looks like we found ourselves in the middle of a battle.

Confused, we just stood there, unmoving. There was another group of red armors behind the blue, so it appears the blue was surrounded. And unfortunately, we were too.

The red armors formed a circle and made it smaller and smaller, trapping us inside.

"Hey! What's going on? We're no part of this!" I shouted.

"Yes! That's right!" Ak'ari shouted beside me.

"Capture them all!" the man who appears to be the commander ordered.

"Hey! But-" and that was the last thing I said before a warhammer hit my head.

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	3. Chapter 3

The Dragon Vessel

Chapter 3

Oh, it was peaceful. I liked the darkness. So peaceful, like there was nothing in this world that would disturb it.

 **"Wake up."**

Hm, what's that voice? Oh, it was the one that told me to follow Ak'ari in the first time. My instinct, if I was correct.

 **"Wake up."**

Or maybe I wasn't. My instinct's voice would never sound like that. But it sounded so familiar. Ugh, why did I meet a lot of very familiar things these days? It won't hurt to check it out, right?

So I woke up. And there was nothing but the darkness.

 **"Ahst laat. You are awake, joor."**

I instantly jolted up into a standing position. It was _not_ my instinct. My hands were shaking as I faced the darkness.

"What? Who are you!? What happened to me? Where am I?"

 **"Drem. Patience, joor. Everything will be explained in due time."**

Drem, joor. Peace, mortal. How did I know these words?

 **"Dahmaan. Do you remember what happened?"**

I turned my eyes to look upward. Hm, I and Ak'ari were in the middle of an Imperial ambush. Then I was hit by a warhammer. Ouch.

 **"It seems you have remembered. Good. Now I will explain. You are in the world between laas and dinok. Between life and death. Or, simply, subconsciousness."**

Well, that's a lot to take in. So I was in a near death state, huh? I'm not going to die now, not yet. I'm still young. What would pa and ma feel back home when they know that I was dead?

"Okay. So, who are you? Why are you here with me? Can you show me yourself?" I asked, letting my guard down a bit.

 **"Vodahmaan. Krosis. Unfortunately, I am blind of the past. I do not remember who I am. I only remember being formed inside your soul when you were still a hatchling. But I can show myself to you."**

I was surprised to hear that this person had been inside me since I was born. Hard to believe.

And he shocked me even further when he showed me himself. He was a dragon. A dragon! By the Hist, he was a dragon!

My eyes went as wide as dinner plates, as I watched the dragon come into view. He was old and weared, but he still looked mighty and magnificent. He walked like a noble beast, even with his tattered wings and shredded scales. His eyes were dark gray, full of wisdom and pain.

I gasped. My mouth opened and closed, I wanted to say something but found myself couldn't. After a few minutes of opening and closing my mouth, I finally found the strength to speak.

"Wh-what are you?" I asked. Oh no. I could've made the thing angry!

 **"I am a dovah. A dragon. Vodahmaan. I do not remember fully about my past. I only remember the events that occured since I was trapped in here."**

So, the thing in front of me was a dragon that suffered amnesia? Could the world get even stranger?

And there's one thing I couldn't help but ask. "How could I understand your language?"

The dragon shook his head. **"I do not know. Perhaps the future will show us about it."**

I was going to talk again, but suddenly my head ached. Like I was hit by tons of bricks. Whispers of that language could be heard in my mind.

 _"Numinex."_

Numinex? Is that... the name of the dragon?

As quickly as it came, it was gone. I released the grip on my head that I didn't realize that it was there. The dragon was in front of me, using his talon to shake me from the massive headache.

 **"Are you alright? What happened?"**

"That language... it was whispering me something. Numinex."

The dragon's eyes flashed when he heard that word.

 **"Numinex... why did that sound familiar? Like it belongs to... me."**

I widened my eyes for the I-don't-know-how-many times. Numinex was his real name.

"It belongs to you. It is your name." I said.

Numinex stared at nothingness for a few moments before he smiled at me. **"You found my name. Thank you, Neema."**

How did he know my name? Oh, right. He lived in me since I was born. I smiled back at him.

"I'll help you find more clue about your past, Numinex."

I looked around at the darkness after that.

"I can't help you if we're stuck here. Any idea to get out?"


	4. Chapter 4

The Dragon Vessel

Chapter 4

"Any idea to get out of here?" I asked.

 **"Hin. You are the one that can get out. I am trapped in here. Krosis. I cannot help you in the outside world."**

Well, I was a bit disappointed. I just liked the thought of having a dragon as a friend. That would look cool. I started to imagine about me playing a lute on top of Numinex who was flying...

I shook the thought away. It wouldn't be possible, right?

"So, how do I get out?"

Numinex didn't answer. Instead, he took a deep breath and shouted.

 **"Vus, daal laas!"** he shouted. Nirn, return life?

And then a great force took me away. Away from the darkness and Numinex.

•*×*-_-*×*•

I groaned as I woke up. It was a normal thing. When I tried to open my eyes, they were striked by the hot bright light of the sun. So I opened the slowly, letting them to adjust to the brightness.

"Neema, you are awake, friend." said a Khajiit's voice. Must be Ak'ari.

Yes, it was Ak'ari. After I opened my eyes, I looked around me. My hands were bound, and there were five people around me.

Ak'ari, a Stormcloak, a Nord in rags, and... what the, Ulfric Stormcloak?! Last was the carriage driver, but he's not important.

I looked at Ak'ari. "Ak'ari..." I called.

"Yes, Neema?" he answered. I glanced at the supposed High King of Skyrim. I then gestured to Ak'ari that I was going to whisper something.

He placed his ear close to my mouth. "Isn't that Ulfric Stormcloak? What is he doing here? Where are we going?"

"Yes, I am aware of who he is. He is captured by the Imperials. About where are we going, I'm not sure about that."

Looks like the Nord in rags heard what we said. Then he looked at Ulfric with terror in his eyes.

"Y-you're Ulfric Stormcloak?" he asked the gagged Nord.

Ulfric nodded. And that made the Nord's face turn into fear. "Oh no. Gods, where are they taking us?" he asked.

"I don't know, but Sovngarde awaits us." the Stormcloak said for the first time.

The Nord in rags then had tears welled in hia eyes, earning a look of disgust from Ulfric.

Sovngarde, according to the lore books, was the Nord's afterlife...

Oh no. They're going to execute us!

"They're going to execute us!" I shouted in panic. No, I still want to live. I haven't fulfilled my dream as a bard!

Ak'ari didn't looked that surprised. He knew that we were going to be executed. He accepted it, even.

"Yes, they will, Neema. I only wish that I had the time to take a revenge on that bastard Gray Fox before I die." he said.

Oh, what am I going to do now? I don't want to die.

 **"Dreh ni uful. Do not worry. I have a feeling that fate is on our side this time."** Numinex said. So that wasn't a dream.

His words relaxed me a bit. Maybe he was right.

"Hey, you three. Where do you come from?" the Stormcloak asked. He was nice.

The ragged Nord didn't want to answer. "Why do you care?"

Stormcloak rolled his eyes and sighed. "A Nord's last thoughts should be of home." he said, as if it was the most obvious thing.

"R-Rorikstead. I'm from Rorikstead." he said. The Stormcloak nodded.

Then he looked at us. "What about you, Argonian? Where are you from?"

"Black Marsh. Then I travelled to Solitude to join the Bard's College." I said.

He raised an eyebrow. "An Argonian bard, eh? Never heard about that one. Can I make a request later?" I don't know if he joked or not. I just nodded.

"What about you, Khajiit?" he asked Ak'ari.

Ak'ari had a look of respect in his eyes. Normally, Nords would call his race as cats.

"I don't have a home. Since we're going to die, anyway..." I winced. How could he say it like it was nothing? "I'll tell you that I was a master thief. To the outside world I was known as Lynx. Does that ring a bell?"

Of course it did. The three Nords instantly made Ak'ari as the center of their attention.

"You're Lynx? As in Lynx The Elder Scroll Stealer?" the Stormcloak asked. Ak'ari nodded in confirmation.

"An infamous master thief and a High King of Skyrim. We are going to be executed for sure." the Nord in rags said.

The gates to Helgen came into view, and we were closer to our execution.

"Hey, Argonian bard. Can you sing the Age of Oppression?" The Stormcloak asked.

So he wasn't joking after all. I cleared my throat and nodded. Then I started to sing. The Stormcloak clapped into the beat and sang too. Oh, it was fun. If only my lute was here...

The leader of the Imperials, General Tullius and a Thalmor elf I didn't know were talking to each other. Then they looked at us with scowls on their face when they heard us sing The Age of Oppression loudly.

The cart stopped as the song ended. Well, this is it. I don't know what Numinex said about fate is on our side.

"Why are we stopping?" asked the ragged Nord.

"What do you think? End of the line." Stormcloak answered.

"You have to tell them that I'm innocent!"

"Face your death with some courage, thief."

So we all stepped down from the wagon one by one and made a line.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm." An Imperial officer called. Ulfric walked to the execution block.

It's been an honor, Jarl Ulfric." the Stormcloak said. Ulfric looked back and nodded.

"Ralof of Riverwood." The Stormcloak, Ralof, walked to the block.

"Lokir of Rorikstead."

"No! I'm not a rebel! You have to believe me!" The Nord in rags shouted at the Imperial officer and captain.

The captain just gave him a raised eyebrow. So Lokir decided to run. The captain simply ordered the archers to shoot him down. Poor Nord.

The Imperial officer then looked between the list and us.

"You two, get here." he ordered us.

We did as we told. "Who, are you?" he asked.

"I'm Neema. The newest member of the Bard's College."

"I am Ak'ari, also known as Lynx. Recognize me?" Ak'ari said. I just rolled my eyes.

The Imperial widened his eyes. "You're the one that stole the Elder Scroll!" he shouted. Ak'ari just nodded.

"Don't worry. I retired recently." Ak'ari said. How could he joke in a near death time like this?

The Imperial looked at the list again. Then he turned to his captain. "Captain, they're not on the list. What-"

"I don't care about the list. They go to the block."

My hopes of living went smaller and smaller.

 _"Numinex! What did you mean by fate is on our side?"_

 **"Drem. Patience. Just you see."**

So we went to the block. A Stormcloak literally volunteered himself to be the first to get executed. Madman.

And that's what he got. Executed.

"As fearless in death, as he was in life." Ralof said in a sad voice and a sad face.

"Next, the lizard!" The Imperial captain bitch pointed at me. I scowled. I didn't like being called like that.

Just before I made my first step towards death, there was a... roar in the sky. Maybe Numinex was right.

"What was that?"

"It's nothing. Carry on."

"I said, next prisoner!"

"To the block, prisoner. Nice and easy."

Okay, I walked to the block. The captain put her feet on my back and pushed me to the block. I can see the headsmen pull his axe up in the air, and...

What was that! There was a black mass flying in the air, and landed on top of a tower behind the headsman. I could feel Numinex grin at me inside.

It was a black dragon, dark as night, with eyes as red as blood.


End file.
